Children need to learn responsibility

Housework is a part of life for children and adults alike. You prepare your children for adulthood by sending them to school, even though they may not always want to go. You also need to prepare them to manage and maintain a home, though it may not always be fun. So how do you solve the chore wars? By starting the learning process early, according to OrganizedHome.com, an online resource for home organization and management.

If your children look at you in amazement when you hand them the mop and broom, some of the blame must be focused in your direction. If it’s been the policy for as long as your children have remembered that mom and dad take care of the household, then you shouldn’t be surprised when the sight of cleaning supplies sends the kids running for cover.

There are many reasons parents tend to assume all of the chore-doing. Perhaps you grew up in a home with heavy sex-role stereotypes, or you may harbor resentment against your own parents for burdening you with too many chores and refuse to continue the cycle. Or you may think that cleaning can be done more effectively, correctly and efficiently if you do it yourself. How do you fit into this picture? Well, cast aside however you felt about chores and housecleaning in the past. Now is the time to make chores a family routine.

SMALL BEGINNINGS

For those of you with young children, you hold an advantage. You can introduce your kids to chores at an early age and teach them that housework is truly a part of life. Your toddler may look at the experience as a chance for fun, and see it as important – pre-schoolers enjoy being around their parents and working with them. Even if the efforts of youngsters are more of a hindrance than help, and you have to redo the chore, they are still learning valuable lessons and shouldn’t be discouraged from pitching in.

SLOW BUT STEADY

If your children are at an age where they can be of help, introduce chores into their lives gradually. Have one child help with laundry duty for a month while the other takes out the trash. Move up slowly to Saturday cleaning day with the family. This method will give you a chance to teach your children how to do chores, and you may receive less opposition to the idea when the kids aren’t forced into anything by a parent who is distraught and agitated.

Also, don’t assume there’s only one method to accomplish a chore. Show your method to your children, and then let them develop their own style of handling the chore, within reason. For example, when pre-rinsing the dinner dishes before loading them into the dishwasher, parents should teach their children to use the sink faucet and not the garden hose!